French Meetup
I went to a French meetup last Saturday for the first time. Before I could RSVP “Yes” I had to pay £10 by Paypal (it’s an annual fee). The meetup itself took place in a pub in central London. I wasn’t very impressed, as it was just people sitting around two tables speaking in French. Which begs the question what is the £10 for exactly? There were also hardly any native speakers. I wasn’t surprised as London has a fairly big French community and so there are plenty of opportunities for Frenchies to hang out with their countrymen. I ended up on a table mostly chatting with this woman who is training to be a languages teacher and this Greek girl who spoke excellent French.
I say there weren’t a lot of native speakers, but there was one obnoxious guy who turned up later. He had a shaved head, really bad teeth and an air of arrogance about him. He mostly spoke to the Greek girl (she’s very pretty), though he chatted to me a bit. He mentioned that he could speak Spanish. I asked him if he was fluent and he looked at me like it was a stupid question. I commented that French and Spanish have some similarities, particularly in grammar and he retorted not really and that Spanish was a more “simplistic” language. Now I don’t claim to be proficient at Spanish, but I wouldn’t say it’s a simplistic language. It’s just that French has lots of annoying exceptions!
Anyway, what really annoyed me about this guy was he kept on correcting people. Of course, if I say something stupid in French I would like a native speaker to point it out. However, this guy would interrupt people and correct them in a condescending and smug way. Also, it was supposed to be a social event not a French class. He actually didn’t say anything to me, but the poor wannabe languages teacher couldn’t complete a sentence without him mercilessly pointing out her mistakes. In the end I’d had enough. I knew this guy had worked at the French Institute, but only in the office. So the next time he corrected the trainee languages teacher I interjected,
“So are you a French teacher by any chance?”
“No, I’m not,” he said, glaring at me.
“Oh, okay…”
“Why do you think I’m a teacher?”
“I just thought…”
“What did you think?”
“Well, I used to be an English teacher and…”
“So what?”
“Well, it’s just you’re correcting people’s French a lot and this is meant to be a social event.”
“I’m not a teacher. I used to work at the French Institute, but I was NOT a teacher.”
“Okay, fine. I guess a teacher wouldn’t correct people like that anyway.”
At this point the Greek girl was trying not to laugh. The guy got up and flounced outside saying he needed a cigarette. I stayed a bit longer and then made my excuses and left. I don’t think I’ll be going to that particular meetup again.
I say there weren’t a lot of native speakers, but there was one obnoxious guy who turned up later. He had a shaved head, really bad teeth and an air of arrogance about him. He mostly spoke to the Greek girl (she’s very pretty), though he chatted to me a bit. He mentioned that he could speak Spanish. I asked him if he was fluent and he looked at me like it was a stupid question. I commented that French and Spanish have some similarities, particularly in grammar and he retorted not really and that Spanish was a more “simplistic” language. Now I don’t claim to be proficient at Spanish, but I wouldn’t say it’s a simplistic language. It’s just that French has lots of annoying exceptions!
Anyway, what really annoyed me about this guy was he kept on correcting people. Of course, if I say something stupid in French I would like a native speaker to point it out. However, this guy would interrupt people and correct them in a condescending and smug way. Also, it was supposed to be a social event not a French class. He actually didn’t say anything to me, but the poor wannabe languages teacher couldn’t complete a sentence without him mercilessly pointing out her mistakes. In the end I’d had enough. I knew this guy had worked at the French Institute, but only in the office. So the next time he corrected the trainee languages teacher I interjected,
“So are you a French teacher by any chance?”
“No, I’m not,” he said, glaring at me.
“Oh, okay…”
“Why do you think I’m a teacher?”
“I just thought…”
“What did you think?”
“Well, I used to be an English teacher and…”
“So what?”
“Well, it’s just you’re correcting people’s French a lot and this is meant to be a social event.”
“I’m not a teacher. I used to work at the French Institute, but I was NOT a teacher.”
“Okay, fine. I guess a teacher wouldn’t correct people like that anyway.”
At this point the Greek girl was trying not to laugh. The guy got up and flounced outside saying he needed a cigarette. I stayed a bit longer and then made my excuses and left. I don’t think I’ll be going to that particular meetup again.